Stephen Rex Donald (born 3 December 1983) is a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who currently plays for the

NEC Green Rockets NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu (formerly NEC Green Rockets) is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. The team's captain iRyota Asano The previous captain was Takuro Miuchi, who was also the captain of the Japan national rugby unio ...

in the Japanese Top League. A

first five-eighth In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

, he has won 24 international caps for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Nicknamed A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

'Beaver', he is best known for kicking the winning penalty in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final.

Domestic career

Waikato

Initially progressing and playing through all levels for the

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

province in the ITM Cup.

Chiefs

He then played for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby competition. He would initially play for the franchise from 2005 until 2011. In 2015, Donald had signed to returned to New Zealand to play for

in the ITM Cup. Donald made his return with

on 10 September 2015 against

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

Waikato Stadium FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, the ...

, coming on as a substitute. In June 2016, Donald captained the Chiefs to a dominating win over

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Although the Welsh were the strong favourites going into the match, Donald had played a 'man of the match' role, dominating his opponents whilst also setting up two tries and perfect goal-kicking percentage which saw the Chiefs beat the Welsh 40–7. Donald also received a standing ovation from the crowd after being subbed in the 68th minute. Donald was controversially disallowed a try just before halftime after the TMO could not see any clear grounding of the ball. In February 2019 it was announced that Donald had joined the Chiefs once again as injury cover for Tiaan Falcon.

Bath Rugby

Donald signed for English Premiership club Bath Rugby for a -year deal. Initially denied a work permit, Bath appealed the decision against the UK Government and, with the support of the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

, won their appeal against the refusal. Donald joined Bath after the Rugby World Cup 2011, making his début in the 68th minute of their Heineken Cup clash with Glasgow on 13 November 2011, scoring a penalty with 90 seconds to go. The Blues denied reports stating that Donald had signed for the team for

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

as a replacement for Stephen Brett and Luke McAlister, who are both heading overseas.

Mitsubishi Dynaboars

In April 2013, it was announced Donald would leave Bath Rugby to join Japanese side Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

for the 2013/14 season.

International career

Despite an international career that had not lived up to expectations, he played for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

from 2008 till 2011. Donald, aka 'The Beaver', kicked the winning penalty in the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup Final for New Zealand. Donald played on an international-level for the

from 2008 to 2011. Throughout his time playing for the All Blacks, Donald had been the subject of harsh criticism as well as high praise. One instance of note was in October 2010, when the All Blacks faced off against the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

in a

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...

match in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. In the 60th minute of the game, Donald came on as a substitute for

Dan Carter Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Carter played for Crusaders (Super Rugby) in New Zealand and played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in ...

and the All Blacks held a five-point lead, just after

Drew Mitchell Drew Alan Mitchell (born 26 March 1984) is a former Australian rugby union professional player. He played on the wing or as fullback. Up to the 2006 season he played for the Queensland Reds. He played for the Western Force for the 2007–09 Sup ...

scored a converted try. Donald had missed a penalty-kick that would have put the game out of reach. The situation was made worse when Donald failed to kick the ball into touch in the dying minutes of the game. After launching a counter-attack, James O'Connor scored a try in the corner to level the score. O'Connor managed to convert that try to win the game for the Australians and the blame of the loss fell primarily on Donald. Although defended by team personnel, Donald had seemingly fallen out of favour with the public and selectors. After the 2010 season had culminated, the All Black selectors looked toward players such as

Colin Slade Colin Richard Slade (born 10 October 1987) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He played primarily at first five-eighth, as well as all other backline positions on occasions. He was first selected for the All Blacks in 200 ...

and

Aaron Cruden Aaron Wiremu Cruden (born 8 January 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who plays for Chiefs and formerly Montpellier, Manawatu and New Zealand internationally. Cruden's usual position is first five-eighth (fly half). Early life Crud ...

more favourably. Donald was not named in the initial 2011 Rugby World Cup All Blacks squad and with his forthcoming move to Bath Rugby, it seemed to be the end of his All Black career. However, a string of injures hit the All Blacks that would see Donald return to the squad. During training the day before the All Blacks match against Canada, Dan Carter sustained a tournament-ending groin injury and was subsequently replaced by Aaron Cruden. On 9 October, Colin Slade sustained a groin tear which led to Donald receiving a call-up as replacement first-five for the All Blacks heading into the finals. A cartoon by Tom Scott in the lead-up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final described it as a "nightmare" if New Zealand's fate was left in his hands. Donald was not used in the semi-final against Australia, however he would be used in the final against France. Cruden sustained a knee injury 34 minutes into the first half, which left Donald to take to the field. After receiving a penalty in the 46th minute, Donald converted a penalty-kick which extended their lead to eight points. Shortly afterwards, France regained the ball from the kick-off and

Thierry Dusautoir Thierry Dusautoir (; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed i ...

scored under the posts, bringing the score to 8–7. Despite the resilient and strong performance from the French, this would be their only set of points scored in the final. Coupled with Tony Woodcock's try, Donald's penalty-kick was ultimately what won the New Zealand side their second Rugby World Cup. After the final, Donald was hailed as the player that won the World Cup for New Zealand and had become somewhat of a national hero thereafter. In honour of his contribution to winning the World Cup, his local rugby club in

Waiuku Waiuku is a rural town in the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour, and lies on the isthmus of the Āwhitu Peninsula, wh ...

has renamed their home ground to Beaver Park. A biopic on Donald's journey to the World Cup final entitled "The Kick" screened on TVNZ on 10 August 2014. Stephen appeared on the second episode of

The Masked Singer NZ ''The Masked'' ''Singer NZ'' is a New Zealand reality singing competition television show based on the '' Masked Singer'' franchise which originated from the South Korean version of the show ''King of Mask Singer''. It premiered on Three on 9 Ma ...

as "

Moa Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...

", being unmasked in his first appearance.

Statistics

Test record overall:

Honours

Waikato

* NPC/Air New Zealand Cup Champion, 2006 *

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

holder

Chiefs

* Super Rugby Runners up: 2009

Bath

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

Runners Up: 2013-2014

New Zealand

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

Winner: 2011 * Tri Nations Winner:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Winner (3): 2008-2010

References

External links

* * Stephen Donal
Chiefs' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Stephen 1983 births Living people Bath Rugby players Chiefs (rugby union) players Counties Manukau rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Japan New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players People educated at Wesley College, Auckland People from Papakura Rugby union fly-halves Tokyo Sungoliath players University of Auckland alumni University of Waikato alumni Waikato rugby union players Rugby union players from Auckland